The government in Northern Ireland is expected to be restored with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) reaching an accord with Westminster after a two-year suspension. The DUP had withdrawn from the Northern Ireland Executive which led to its collapse as a result of disputes regarding the UK’s Brexit deal. On Tuesday, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson stated that the party’s executive had approved the deal and that it provides a suitable basis for the party to nominate members to the executive.
Following the breakdown of the previous executive, a new legislative and executive power-sharing arrangement must be formed. The largest Unionist party, the DUP, and the largest Republican party, Sinn Féin, are required to work in partnership under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Sinn Féin’s president Mary Lou McDonald expressed confidence in the return of the executive before the legislative deadline of Feb. 8. She added, “I am optimistic that we will see the northern institutions back up and running before the Feb. 8 deadline with a fully functioning Assembly and Executive and north-south bodies.”
The package agreed with Westminster was subject to “binding commitments” which included the tabling and passing of new legislative measures in Parliament. While there is support for the deal within the DUP, some senior members are fiercely against restoring power-sharing under this agreement; insisting that the Stormont boycott ends once all economic barriers created by Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol and the subsequent Windsor Framework are removed. Despite potential dissent within the party, Sir Jeffrey expressed confidence that all members would accept the party executive’s decisive move.
Unionist members and protesters expressed their dissatisfaction with the deal outside the meeting at the Larchfield estate. As part of the Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris’ hopeful support, he said, “I now believe that all the conditions are in place for the Assembly to return, the parties entitled to form an Executive are meeting today to discuss these matters and I hope to be able to finalize this deal with the political parties as soon as possible.”